ACC’s Securities Division Shares How New Crypto ATM Fraud Laws Protect Arizona Seniors

Phoenix, Ariz.- Arizonans now have more protection against cryptocurrency scams - the state's new Cryptocurrency Kiosk License Fraud Prevention law (HB 2387) officially went into effect on September 26, 2025. The new law mandates several protections for consumers, including setting transaction limits and enacting refund protections for fraud victims.

"Cryptocurrency kiosks have been unregulated and are increasingly utilized to defraud innocent victims out of their hard earned money," said Commissioner Rachel Walden. "The Arizona Corporation Commission is committed to investor education and fraud prevention and stands ready to be a resource for our state."

Arizona's new Cryptocurrency Kiosk License Fraud Prevention law establishes the following mandates:

• Refunds: ATM operators must issue full refunds to new customers who were defrauded, provided the victim reports the fraud to law enforcement or the Attorney General and the ATM operator within 30 days.
• Transaction limits: Daily limits have been set at $2,000 for new customers and $10,500 for existing customers.
• Warning messages: On-screen warnings must be displayed, and customers must acknowledge them before completing a transaction.
• Receipts: All transactions now require a receipt showing the digital wallet address where the funds were sent.

"This is a beneficial piece of consumer protection legislation, and I'd like to highlight the opportunity for fraud victims to apply for a refund from the crypto ATM operator if they are new customers and report the fraudulent transaction to law enforcement or the Attorney General within 30-days," said Assistant Director of the ACC Securities Division, Wendy Coy. "We are aware that perpetrators of scams encourage investors to withdraw cash and then deposit the cash in crypto ATMs. The investors then share the account numbers with the person soliciting the funds, a lot of time this is part of a large foreign criminal enterprise utilizing crypto ATMs to make tracing funds difficult. We encourage people to file complaints if they used a crypto ATM to send funds to someone they don't know with the Arizona Attorney General's Office. Fraud prevention is our top priority, and we encourage investors to contact the ACC Securities Division BEFORE making any suspicious or first-time investment transactions."

In Arizona, seniors are typically targeted as victims of this financial crime. A common tactic scammers may use to trick people into using crypto ATMs is impersonation. The fraudsters may pose as a romantic online interest, a job recruiter, or a government agency official, such as an FBI agent or local police officer. They then instruct victims on how to convert their cash to cryptocurrency using crypto ATM's and then transmit the cryptocurrency to them.

"Securities and crypto fraud will not be tolerated in Arizona. HB2387 is the latest tightening of the law to protect our citizens," said Commissioner Walden.

For more information, or to check before you invest, you can call the ACC Securities Division at (602) 542-4242 or e-mail [email protected].